After whining endlessly that an election was stolen by software nobody used and imaginary Venezuelan money Republicans in the MT lege are openly trying to rig an election.
They badly want to unseat Montana's lone Democratic senator in the next election. To do that they are trying to change the rules on that election and that election only, making it a "top two" primary (since they have two candidates different factions in the GOP are pushing) and allowing only those two candidates on the general election ballot. The law sunsets after the Senate election.
They are also trying to raise the bar for ballot access to an impossible threshold for all but the incumbent parties: to maintain ballot status a candidate for statewide office would have to get the votes of 5% of registered voters. Once kicked off the ballot the signature requirements get even worse, guaranteeing that voters get only two choices.
Just so I don't get accused of ragging on only one of the corrupt power junkies in my state...last election the Democrats elbowed the Greens off the ballot by suing.
I'm beginning to think the US isn't much of a democracy or republic for that matter.
After whining endlessly that an election was stolen by software nobody used and imaginary Venezuelan money Republicans in the MT lege are openly trying to rig an election.
They badly want to unseat Montana's lone Democratic senator in the next election. To do that they are trying to change the rules on that election and that election only, making it a "top two" primary (since they have two candidates different factions in the GOP are pushing) and allowing only those two candidates on the general election ballot. The law sunsets after the Senate election.
They are also trying to raise the bar for ballot access to an impossible threshold for all but the incumbent parties: to maintain ballot status a candidate for statewide office would have to get the votes of 5% of registered voters. Once kicked off the ballot the signature requirements get even worse, guaranteeing that voters get only two choices.
Just so I don't get accused of ragging on only one of the corrupt power junkies in my state...last election the Democrats elbowed the Greens off the ballot by suing.
And Joe still says that he has never talked to Hunter about any businesses that Hunter was involved in.
Ding ! Fries are done.
I'll give you this...you're consistent.
If this had been RBG going on the same trips, and her husband sending notes to Biden's chief of staff about luring more children to the Washington pizza restaurants to be sexually abused... I'd be embarrassed if the depth of my response would be "whatabout the 18 accusations of sexual assault for Trump?"
The pizza-gate reference sounds crazy...but no more than the wife of a SCOTUS justice saying "The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History."
Is it fair to suggest that you have no issue with the Clarence and Ginni taking these trips and his donations ?
FWIW... I talked to my wife about work nearly every day. I almost never discussed work with my father...and it never included details.
So the judge goes away with a guy who then gives Mrs. SCOTUS (Clarence's best friend in the whole wide world... Ginnie) $500k for the Tea Party, $500k for the library she supports, and who knows what else.
But Clarence and Ginnie don't talk about their professional lives to one another... which is the line she used when talking about her support of "the stolen election".
But to your point.... that laptop has gotta have some amazing dirt. Deep state at it again.
The disgusting thing is that Thomas has been accepting these free vacations for 20+ years.
And yes, Ginni's been taking money from Crew as well. How did they think they could get away with this?
I always believed Anita Hill. Now I think everyone will.
Sure, we could talk about Hunter Biden's laptop. Or we can wonder how Clarence Thomas has plodded through life as a SJ justice without any ethics or regard for the integrity of the Court.
So the judge goes away with a guy who then gives Mrs. SCOTUS (Clarence's best friend in the whole wide world... Ginnie) $500k for the Tea Party, $500k for the library she supports, and who knows what else.
But Clarence and Ginnie don't talk about their professional lives to one another... which is the line she used when talking about her support of "the stolen election".
But to your point.... that laptop has gotta have some amazing dirt. Deep state at it again.
Sure, we could talk about Hunter Biden's laptop. Or we can wonder how Clarence Thomas has plodded through life as a SJ justice without any ethics or regard for the integrity of the Court.
In late June 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia. He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.
If Thomas had chartered the plane and the 162-foot yacht himself, the total cost of the trip could have exceeded $500,000. Fortunately for him, that wasnât necessary: He was on vacation with real estate magnate and Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, who owned the jet â and the yacht, too.
For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them, documents and interviews show. A public servant who has a salary of $285,000, he has vacationed on Crowâs superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crowâs Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crowâs sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crowâs private resort in the Adirondacks.
The extent and frequency of Crowâs apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court. These trips appeared nowhere on Thomasâ financial disclosures. His failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts, two ethics law experts said. He also should have disclosed his trips on the yacht, these experts said.
Through his largesse, Crow has gained a unique form of access, spending days in private with one of the most powerful people in the country. By accepting the trips, Thomas has broken long-standing norms for judgesâ conduct, ethics experts and four current or retired federal judges said.
âItâs incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,â said Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge appointed by President Bill Clinton. When she was on the bench, Gertner said, she was so cautious about appearances that she wouldnât mention her title when making dinner reservations: âIt was a question of not wanting to use the office for anything other than what it was intended.â
Virginia Canter, a former government ethics lawyer who served in administrations of both parties, said Thomas âseems to have completely disregarded his higher ethical obligations.â âWhen a justiceâs lifestyle is being subsidized by the rich and famous, it absolutely corrodes public trust,â said Canter, now at the watchdog group CREW. âQuite frankly, it makes my heart sink.â
...
Federal judges sit in a unique position of public trust. They have lifetime tenure, a privilege intended to insulate them from the pressures and potential corruption of politics. A code of conduct for federal judges below the Supreme Court requires them to avoid even the âappearance of impropriety.â Members of the high court, Chief Justice John Roberts has written, âconsultâ that code for guidance. The Supreme Court is left almost entirely to police itself.
...
Long an influential figure in pro-business conservative politics, Crow has spent millions on ideological efforts to shape the law and the judiciary. Crow and his firm have not had a case before the Supreme Court since Thomas joined it, though the court periodically hears major cases that directly impact the real estate industry. The details of his discussions with Thomas over the years remain unknown, and it is unclear if Crow has had any influence on the justiceâs views. In his statement, Crow said that he and his wife have never discussed a pending or lower court case with Thomas. âWe have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue,â he added. In Thomasâ public appearances over the years, he has presented himself as an everyman with modest tastes. âI donât have any problem with going to Europe, but I prefer the United States, and I prefer seeing the regular parts of the United States,â Thomas said in a recent interview for a documentary about his life, which Crow helped finance. âI prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. Thereâs something normal to me about it,â Thomas said. âI come from regular stock, and I prefer that â I prefer being around that.â
...
Crowâs access to the justice extends to anyone the businessman chooses to invite along. Thomasâ frequent vacations at Topridge have brought him into contact with corporate executives and political activists.
During just one trip in July 2017, Thomasâ fellow guests included executives at Verizon and PricewaterhouseCoopers, major Republican donors and one of the leaders of the American Enterprise Institute, a pro-business conservative think tank, according to records reviewed by ProPublica. The painting of Thomas at Topridge shows him in conversation with Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society leader regarded as an architect of the Supreme Courtâs recent turn to the right.
In his statement to ProPublica, Crow said he is âunaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that.â
âThese are gatherings of friends,â Crow said.
Crow has deep connections in conservative politics. The heir to a real estate fortune, Crow oversees his familyâs business empire and recently named Marxism as his greatest fear. He was an early patron of the powerful anti-tax group Club for Growth and has been on the board of AEI for over 25 years. He also sits on the board of the Hoover Institution, another conservative think tank. A major Republican donor for decades, Crow has given more than $10 million in publicly disclosed political contributions. Heâs also given to groups that keep their donors secret â how much of this so-called dark money heâs given and to whom are not fully known. âI donât disclose what Iâm not required to disclose,â Crow once told the Times.
Crow has long supported efforts to move the judiciary to the right. He has donated to the Federalist Society and given millions of dollars to groups dedicated to tort reform and conservative jurisprudence. AEI and the Hoover Institution publish scholarship advancing conservative legal theories, and fellows at the think tanks occasionally file amicus briefs with the Supreme Court.
âWhen I made those statements, I wasnât even talking about masks per se,â Greene said. âI was talking about the mistreatment of being treated like a second-class citizen. And I never said the word âHolocaust.â Itâs just the same as I never said the words âJewish space lasers,â but then the media made that one up too. So this is another fake news story that the media had to create to cover up the fact that the Jihad Squad is supporting terrorism, that the Democrat Party is the real party of ant-Semitism, theyâre the real party of hate, division, and stealing our freedoms. So the media needed cover for the Democrats and the precious women that they loveâthe Jihad Squadâand so they decided to attack me.â
Hmmm. So writing a book and producing a movie that engages in speculation and innuendo to impugn the character of Barack Obama is OK, but when a Magazine allegedly does the same thing to you, you get offended?
Uhm, Mr. Model D'Christian, who on various occasions liked to pontificate on the supposed immorality of atheists, would you please be so kind as to read off the seventh commandment? In case you conveniently forgot that one, it starts with Thou and ends with Adultery...
Hmmm. So writing a book and producing a movie that engages in speculation and innuendo to impugn the character of Barack Obama is OK, but when a Magazine allegedly does the same thing to you, you get offended?
Uhm, Mr. Model D'Christian, who on various occasions liked to pontificate on the supposed immorality of atheists, would you please be so kind as to read off the seventh commandment? In case you conveniently forgot that one, it starts with Thou and ends with Adultery... 
